Transmission Problems in Colorado

Well, since we last posted in Moab, we were doing all sorts of stuff. We went climbing, mountain biking, hiking in Arches NP, etc. Then we continued driving into Colorado on Sunday. We got all the way to Canon City, where we stopped for some Blizzards at Dairy Queen. When we came out of DQ, we started driving off, and noticed we couldn't get it into 3rd or 4th gear! Oh No! So we pulled over, and tried to read what might be wrong in the manuals and online (we conveniently had a wifi signal from some hotel next to us). We figured out that it might be a bushing on the shifter, so we checked, and it was missing! Yay, problem fixed, right? Except we didn't have the bushing, so we had to "make" one by jamming some wooden sticks and taping them secure with electrical tape. We drove off with 3rd and 4th, but we had no reverse. We made it to Golden, CO, where Romy's family is.
There, we found a VW parts place and got the bushing. We took it on a test drive to Buffalo Bill's, and discovered that the problem was NOT fixed!!!!!
So there we went, looking for what might really be the problem, which we figured must be something inside the transmission, not just on the shifter. So later that evening Romy dropped the engine and transmission.
This morning, we cleaned up the transmission and opened it. We discover that the ball joint inside was completely worn down, which made sense with what we read online. If the ball joint is worn down too much, then it can't push into 3rd and 4th, only 1st and 2nd gear. The trouble is now, how can we get the part in time? Its tuesday, and we need to be home soon!